And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
And the stars of heaven shall fall - "and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth" (Luke 21:25-26).
And the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. Though the grandeur of this language carries the mind over the head of all periods but that of Christ's Second Coming, nearly every expression will be found used of the Lord's coming in terrible national judgments: as of Babylon (Isaiah 13:9-13); of Idumea (Isaiah 34:1-2; Isaiah 34:4; Isaiah 34:8-10); of Egypt (Ezekiel 32:7-8): compare also Psalms 18:7-15; Isaiah 24:1; Isaiah 24:17-19; Joel 2:10-11, etc. We cannot therefore consider the mere strength of this language a proof that it refers exclusively or primarily to the precursors of the final day, though of course in "that day" it will have its most awful fulfillment.